Egg-turner for incubators.



No. 677,006. Y Patented June 25, mm. W. A. WESCOTT. EGG TURNER FUR INCUBATORS.

(Application filed Mar. 25, 1901.)

\No Model.)

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NrrnD STATES PATENT r tes.

WILLIAM A. \VESCOTT, OF NEW BEDFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- I'IALF TO WVASHINGTON THOMAS, OF SAME PLACE.

EGG-TURNER FOR'INCUBATORS.

SPECIFZGATZC H 561mg part of Letters Patent No. 677,006, dated 3' mile 25, 1901.

Application filed March 25, 1901. Serial No. 52,867. (Ila model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. WEsoo'rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Bedford, in the county of Bureau and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Egg-Turner for Incubators, of which the .following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in egg-turners for incubators.

One object of the present invention is to improve the construction of egg-turners for incubators and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one adapted to enable the entire contents of a tray to be turned to the desired extent, so that all sides of the eggs will be uniformly subjected to the moisture of the incubator.

Afurtherobject of theinventionis to enable the eggs to be turned from the exterior of an incubator without opening the same and to permit the tray to be readily removed from the incubator when desired.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an egg-tray constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of an incubator, illustrating the arrangement of the tray and showing the means for turning the eggs from the exterior. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the same. Fig. 4: is a vertical sectional view taken at right angles to Fig. 2, the eggtray being illustrated in side elevation and the crank-handle being removed. Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating the arrangement of the slide for locking the removable crankhandle in engagement with one of the eggsupporting rolls.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates an eggtray designed to be constructed of a size to suit the size of the incubator in which it is to be employed and composed of side bars 2 and 3, front and rear bars 4 and 5, and a connecting-bar 6, arranged parallel with the side bars and assisting in supporting a bottom 7 of screen material. The bars which form the frame of the tray may be united in any suitable manner and are preferabl y supported by corner-plates S and are provided with bearing-openings for egg-supporting rolls 9, which extend across the tray through openings of the central bar 6. The bottom 7 is preferably constructed of wire-gauze, and it is secured to the lower faces of the bars of the frame of the tray and is supported by cleats 10. The central bar prevents the bottom 7 from sagging, and in large trays one or more intermediate bars may be provided for supporting the bottom and the rolls between the sides.

The rolls which are adapted to support the eggs are provided at one side of the tray with caps 11, having annular heads from which extend eccentrically-arranged wrist-pins 12,and the latter pass through perforations of a connecting-bar 13, which causes the rolls to rotate in unison. The connecting-bar may be secured t-o'the wrist-pin byany suitable means, and the central roll is provided at the other side of the tray with a cap or sleeve 14, having a squared projection or lug 15, adapted to fit into a corresponding socket of the inner end 16 of a crank-handle 17. The crank-handle is provided with a stem 18, which extends throughan opening 19 of the adjacent side of the incubator and which is provided with the said socket for the reception of the lug or projection. The stem 18 of the crank-handle is also provided with an annular shoulder 20, which is adapted to be engaged by a locking slide or plate 21, mounted on the exterior of the incubator, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5, and provided at its engaging end with a recess to receive the stem of the crank-handle. The recess 22 conforms to the configuration of the stem 18, and the plate is provided above the recess with a slot 23, through which passes a fastening device 24., preferably consisting of a screw. The fastening device supports a washer, which is interposed between the head of the screw and the plate or slide 21. The

- slide is located above the crank-handle and is adapted to be retained in engagement with the same by gravity; but, if desired, the screw may be tightened to clamp the slide or plate in engagement with the crank handle. By

rotating the crank-handle the egg-supporting rolls will be simultaneously rotated and will turn the eggs supported by them. The rolls may be arranged any distance apart; but should an egg be too small to be supported by the rolls it will lie against one of them and will be partially rotated. The wire-gauze bottom will catch the egg-shells and will prevent the chickens from dropping through the tray.

The tray is firmly held in the incubator upon suitable supports by a removable pin or key 25 passing through the side bar 3 and engaging a socket or opening of the incubator, as clearly indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings. The front of the casing of the incubator is provided with an opening 26, receiving a removable section 27, adapted to be taken out to permit the tray to be removed from the incubator when the pin is detached and when the crank-handle is disengaged from the lug or projection of the central egg-supporting roll. The section 27 may be in the form of a door or may be constructed in any other suitable manner, and it may be secured in the opening of the casing by any suitable means.

It Will be seen that the egg-turner for incubators is exceedingly simple in construction, that it is adapted to enable the eggs to be rotated from the exterior Without opening the incubator, and that while the tray is securely retained in place when in use it is adapted to be readily removed when desired.

What I claim is 1. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a casing provided at its front with an opening adapted to form a passageway for a tray, a tray arranged within the casing and provided with egg-supporting rolls and having a perforation, a vertical key or pin passing through the perforation and engaging the casing and retaining the tray in' in retaining the tray in place, substantially as described. 7

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a casing having an opening, a tray arranged within the casing and provided with egg-supporting rolls, metallic caps receiving the ends of the rolls at one side of the tray and provided with Wrist-pins, a connecting-bar secured to the wrist-pins, a crankhandle having a stem extending through the casing at the other side of the tray and interlocked with one of the rolls, and a fastening device mounted on the exterior of the casing and detachably engaging the stem of the crank-handle, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

\VILLIA M A. IVESCOTT.

\Vitnesses:

N. A. LATHROP, SAMUEL WRIGHT. 

